The dragonfly renaissance in Sheffield

“There’s nothing like a nice walk down the riverbank in the sun, watching dragonflies showing off their acrobatic skills, catching their prey and defending their territory.

“They are really beautiful, stunning creatures,” reflects Alistair’s co-author, dragonfly recorder and photographer Paul Richards, ecological mon itoring o fficer from Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust.“And when you watch them they have this ‘hyperdrive’ capability,” adds Alistair. “You can watch one hovering and then suddenly it’s somewhere else, like Star Trek.”Published by Sorby Natural History Society and Museums Sheffield just in time for the middle of dragonfly season, ‘Dragonflies of the Sheffield Area’ has taken the two naturalists (and third co-author Derek Whiteley) 25 years to put together, partly, it seems, because after deciding on the idea in the 1990s they had too many good dragonfly summers to bother with sitting inside compiling an expansive illustrated atlas to the dragonflies (and damselflies) of the Sheffield area.It’s worth the wait, not least because there are so many dragonflies in Sheffield nowadays: ten different species were resident here in the 1970s, and now there are over 20, with several regular rarities too.“You rush off to see it if you hear a lesser emperor is passing through,” says Alistair of an unusual green-eyed vagrant which has spent 28 years moving from Romney Marsh to an occasional home at Treeton Dyke.The local ‘dragonfly renaissance’ (as they put it) is due to much improved water quality and vegetation in our rivers and waterways, along with climate change guiding dragonflies to new breeding areas, where they’ll have milder winters for their nymphs to survive underwater, before emerging to the sunny summer skies of Sheffield.Sheffield’s location between northern and southern and upland and lowland areas, and on the edge of acid and alkaline soils, makes the area even more interesting for species variety.The careful local monitoring of the 250-million-yea r- old odanata insect group by dozens of local enthusiasts led to over 37,000 records from Sheffield, which allows the new atlas to carefully map where and when in the year dragonflies can be seen.It also gives real scientific data to help monitor the effects of river pollution, climate and habitat changes on the dragonfly, and how the insects are moving around the UK.Records show, for example, how the once-scarce shimmering banded demoiselle damselfly has moved west and north along river corridors until it can now be seen in Sheffield city centre.Unlike a national wildlife guide, an atlas based on Sheffield records is “a local book for local people,” says Alistair, with accurate flying times.Dragonfly season lasts from May to October (or November in mild winters), so Paul advises: “Get out there now! They’re all over the place, with plenty of big dragonflies zooming around.”Choose a fairly calm, sunny day, says Alistair, and just go out to a river or pond with some binoculars or a camera with a telephoto lens. If you’re keen, you can even submit your dragonfly records for the next atlas at https://www.wildsheffield.com/sightings/Good dragonfly sites include Woodhouse Washlands, Treeton Dyke, Barbrook Reservoir, Rother Valley Park and around Burbage Brook - and the city canals and rivers.And bear in mind they may be watching you too: “The Hawkers for example,” says Alistair. “They’ll seek you out. They want to know who you are and whether you’re going to eat them.”The new atlas is available from Amazon, says Alistair, with copies also at Sheffield Museums once they reopen.“I’m really grateful that Museums Sheffield believe a Natural History curator’s job doesn’t end with collections,” he said. “They do let me out too.”The book is dedicated to the authors’ mothers, Veronica, Mavis and Margaret, ‘for their encouragement and forbearance with our weird interests.’“We were never really encouraged to be stockbrokers or accountants,” says Paul. “And we’re happy instead.”

Visit www.wildsheffield.com/sightings/